Folding mechanism for printing machines



July 11, 1961 A. M. ZUCKERMAN 2,991,995

FOLDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 2. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

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July 11, 1961 A. M. ZUCKERMAN FOLDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2. 1954 INVENTOR ATTORNEYJ United States Patent 2,991,995 FOLDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Adolph M. Zuckerman, New York, N.Y., assignor to R. Hoe & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 2, 1954, Ser. No. 433,867 8 Claims. (Cl. 27050) This invention relates to folding mechanism for printing machines.

In such machinery a variety of cutting, folding, associating and collecting operations are utilized to produce desired products. The products produceable with any given machine depend not only upon the folding mechanism, but upon the printing machine with which it is associated. Thus in the manufacture of multiple folded products, it has been found possible to utilize a plurality of successive longitudinal folds with little or no slowing down in the normal speed of operation of the machine (Zuckerman Patent 2,631,845), while if the nature of the printing machine and product is such that a plurality of transverse folds are made (Zuckerman Patent 2,487,- 404) a slowing down of the operation is necessary. Since this involves not merely the slowing down of the transverse folding mechanism, but also of the entire printing machine, the increased cost of production may be very heavy.

It is also necessary in printing and folding equipment in general to make provision forspecified desired products in an alternative way, the machine being alsoadapted to produce other products of a radically different character both as to page size and orientation and otherwise.

The general objects of the present invention are to provide a high speed multiple transverse folding mechanism and to provide such-a mechanism which-is adapted to use in combination with any of a variety of other folding and .delivery mechanisms.

A machine embodying the invention in a preferred form will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and the features forming the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic and diagrammatic side elevation of a printing machine utilizing the folding mechanism of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation end view of the machine -of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the mechanism of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a gear diagram.

While the mechanism of the invention is not restricted to use with any particular printing machine or 'otherfolding, cut-off and deliverymechanism, it will be described for definiteness as applied to a machine generally like that shown in Zuckerman 'Patent 2,248,016, to which reference may be made for details of parts where'those details -form no part of "the present invention, and hence are not described herein.

The printing machine shown in FIGS. 1 and .2 comprises supply means for a-pair of webs W1 and W2, upper and lower printing units U1, U2 and L1, L2, together with driers D and folder Each of the=units is':shown as adapted to printing two colors and hence has :a

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of plate cylinders P cooperating with a common impression cylinder I. Suitable drive mechanisms for driving the upper and lower units separately or in combination as desired and for printing upon one or two webs in various color combinations will be provided as usual but not described herein, since they form no part of the present invention.

A web W1 or W2 may be slit longitudinally into a plurality of ribbons, such as the ribbons R1 to R4, which are associated or combined together and cut off into suitable lengths by the cutting cylinders 10 and 10' (FIG. 3), which are equipped to make two outs for each revolution. Cylinder 10 is equipped with knives 11, while cylinder 10 has cooperating cutting blocks or woods 12 and pins 13 for taking the sheets as cut off. Thwe pins are operated in the usual way (by the well known cam operating mechanism, not shown) for taking the out off batches of sheets and transferring them to a collecting cylinder 14, which is equipped with three sets of pins 15 and tucking or folding blades 16. The batches of sheets are released bythe pins 15 at appropriate intervals and are folded by the blades 16 into the jaws 17 of the jaw cylinder 18, from which the folded products are transferred to grippers 19 of a pair of delivery cylinders 20 and 21, and from these cylinders to delivery tapes 22 and 23. Thus far, the mechanism described is that of prior Zuckerman Patent 2,248,016 (FIG.2 and a brief reoapitulation of the operation of that mechanism in advance of a description of the mechanism added in accordance with the present invention will now also be given.

The cutting cylinders 10, 10' are, of course, related in speed of rotation and in diameter to the plate cylinders P of the printing machine. For example, in the construction shown they are of substantially the same diameter as the plate cylinders P and rotate at substantially the same speed, so that two different products are cut off at each rotation of the cutting cylinders, unless the plate cylinders are printing two up, in which case two duplioate products will be produced for each rotation of the cutting cylinders. The collecting cylinder 14 operates at the same peripheral speed as the cutting cylinder 10, and may, of course, operate collect, in which case each set of pins takes two products from the cylinder 10, in succession as it comes into cooperative relation thereto, and then transfers these products to a set of jaws 17 of the jaw cylinder 18. In accordance with usual practice the collecting cylinder has an odd number (specifically, three) of operating elements.

The jaw cylinder 18 likewise operates at the same peripheral speed. When cylinder 14 is operating straight or without collecting, all the jaws 17 are supplied with products, but when the cylinder 14 is operated to collect products, two diametrically opposite sets of jaws 17 will be operative, and the other two will be inactive. The delivery cylinders 20 and 21 operate at a peripheral rotary speed less than that of the jaw cylinder 18 (see Zuckerman Patent 1,713,016), but at the same angular speed. Since the delivery cylinders 20 and 21 are equipped with two sets of grippers 19 and the jaw cylinder 18 is equipped with four sets of jaws -17, the grippers of each delivery cylinder-cooperate with two diametrically opposed sets of .jaws 17. It will be observed that by reason of the peripheral'speed of jawcylinder 18 being the same as that of preceding cylinders, while the products carried by it are folded and hence have half the length in the direction of rotation of the unfolded products carried by previous cylinders, the peripheral surface of jaw cylinder 18 is composed of about half the peripheral area which is covered by the products being handled and about half of that area which is idle. This phenomenon of reduction of average speed in terms of feet or inches per unit time of folded product, as compared with absolute linear speed, is utilized to permit making a second transverse fold without reducing the speed of the machine in general, in the manner which will now be described.

The mechanism added in accordance with the present invention, comprises a folding and transfer cylinder 30 having grippers 31 and folding or tucking blades 32 (there being two sets of each diametrically spaced apart), a jaw cylinder 35 having two sets of jaws 36, similarly spaced, and a delivery cylinder 38 having two sets of grippers 39, similarly spaced, and which deliver the products to delivery tapes 40. The cylinder 30 operates at angular speed equal to that of the jaw cylinder 18, but is of reduced diameter, the diameter as shown being about 80% of that of the jaw cylinder 18. The diameter and peripheral speed of cylinder 30 may be varied to suit particular requirements, a value of 70% to 80% of the press and jaw cylinder peripheral speed being generally satisfactory.

The second jaw cylinder 35 operates at angular and peripheral speed equal to those of the cylinder 30, the tucking blades 32 folding products into the jaws 36 as they come into operative relation, and these products are in turn transferred to the grippers 39 of the delivery cylinder 38, which operates at a further reduced speed. The mechanism for operating the various elements 31, 32, 36 and 39 being in itself well known and its details forming no part of the present invention, this mechanism is not shown herein.

In FIG. 4 the gearing for driving the various cylinders is shown diagrammatically. The gears 41 to 44 for the respective cylinders 10, 14 and 18 are equal in pitch diameter to their respective cylinders, so that these cylinders operate at the same peripheral speed as stated. In FIG. 4 only the pitch diameters of the gears are indicated, to avoid confusing multiplication and intersection of lines, together with the peripheral diameters of the cylinders. Where, to the scale of the drawing, a gear pitch diameter would appear to be tangent to a cylinder peripheral diameter, that portion of the gear pitch circle is omitted. Gears 45, 46 and 47 are all of equal pitch diameters, so that their respective cylinders 18, 20 and 21 operate at equal angular speeds. Gear 48 driving the cylinder 30 is also of the same pitch diameter as gear 48 on cylinder 18, so that cylinder 30 operates at the same angular speed as cylinder 18. The meshing gears 49 and 50 between cylinders 30 and 35 have equal pitch diameters for driving these two cylinders at the same angular and peripheral speeds, while the gear 51 driving delivery cylinder 38 has a pitch diameter also equal to that of gear 51' which drives it.

The specific diameter relationships and peripheral speeds of the various cylinders may be selected to suit convenience in various particulars, as for example in providing for the use of standard gears and gear ratios. The peripheral speed of all delivery cylinders may conveniently be about half that of the jaw cylinder 18, and the speed of cylinders 30 and 35 may conveniently be a geometric mean or average between the speed of jaw cylinder 18 and the delivery cylinder 38.

A number of slitters S may be associated with the various cylinders at desired locations, for further dividing the products longitudinally, the operation in this respect being similar to that in Zuckerman Patent 2,248,016.

While the mechanism of the invention is not limited to the production of products of any particular size, its capacities may be brought out more clearly by referring IO 4 i specific dimensions by way of example. Assuming printing cylinders of 34 /2 inches circumference and a web of 50 inches Width, it will be apparent that the mechanism shown without the added cylinders 30, 35, 38 is capable of delivering products folded once transversely and hence measuring approximately 8% inches in the direction of travel. Such products, as collected will also have partly open edges on all four sides, and the dimension of product conveniently produceable will be the stated 8% inches along one edge and a suitable fraction of the web width, as determined by the slitting of the web along the other edge. The arrangement of the present invention permits the production of twice folded products having a completely closed edge (edge folded into jaws 36 by blades 32) and measuring only about 4% inches in the direction of travel. Such product where four ribbons are associated prior to cutting by cylinders 10, 10, will by reason of the collecting and folding by cylinder 14 and the further folding by cylinder 30 include 32 pages, and this number of pages may be increased by associating more ribbons. The products produced may be stapled or bound alone or in combination with other products in any desired manner. In the production of these products, the delivery cylinders 20 and 21 will be inoperative.

As will be apparent, the slow down folding arrangement of the invention may be used in conjunction with a cylinder traveling at a peripheral speed equal to the web speed, provided that the products thus fed to the slow down folding arrangement occupy only part of the circumference of that cylinder. This will be the case wherever there has been a previous transverse fold or a collecting operation, or both, as these operations reduce the product length as measured in the direction of travel. Similar conditions will obtain, wherever the products cut from the web are directed to two or more deliveries, since in this case also any cylinder which travels at web speed will be only partly covered by the products.

What is claimed is:

l. A web printing machine folder comprising, in combination, a pair of cutting cylinders, a collecting and folding cylinder, a jaw cylinder taking products from the collecting and folding cylinder, a delivery cylinder operatively associated with the jaw cylinder, a transfer and folding cylinder also operatively associated with the jaw cylinder for taking products therefrom, a second jaw cylinder taking products from the transfer and folding cylinder and a second delivery cylinder taking products from the second jaw cylinder, and means for driving the said cylinders, comprising means driving the cutting, collecting and first jaw cylinder at substantially the same peripheral speed, the two delivery cylinders at a reduced peripheral speed and the transfer and second jaw cylinders at an intermediate reduced speed.

2. A web printing machine folder according to claim 1, in which the first mentioned reduced speed is about fifty percent of the first jaw cylinder speed and the intermediate speed is about seventy-five percent.

3. A web printing machine folder comprising, in combination a cylinder having a product holding means, means for forming separated products from a traveling web and supplying them to the said product holding means, a pair of transverse folding cylinders, means operatively associating the said pair of folding cylinders with the first said cylinder for taking products therefrom, and drive means for the said cylinders driving the said pair of folding cylinders at substantially reduced peripheral speed compared to the first said cylinder, the means supplying products to the said product holding means, comprising product forming means so related to the first said cylinder that only a portion of the circumference thereof is covered by products taken therefrom by the said pair of transverse folding cylinders, the said portion bearing a ratio to the cylinder circumference which is less than the ratio of the said reduced peripheral speed to the peripheral speed of the first said cylinder.

5 v 4. A web printing machine folder according to claim 8. A web printing machine folder according to claim 3, in which the portion of the first said cylinder which is 3, in whi h the said means supplying products to the first so covered by products is a fraction of the entire cylinder id li d mprises both collecting and transverse circumference. foldi g means 5. A web printing machine folder according to claim 4, l in which the said fraction is substantially one half. References Cited in the file of this patent 6. A web printing machine folder according to claim 3, in which the means supplying products to the first said UNITED STATES PATENTS cylinder comprises collecting means. 7. A web printing machine folder according to claim 10 ,1 5:33 sg 3, in which the means supplying products to the first said Crafts July 1944 cyhnder comprlses transverse fcldmg means- 2,528,159 Meyer Oct 31, 1950 

